My husband bought a tps ($32) It wasn't that. He and our friend (who works in a parts store) thought it was the IAC. So he bought one ($100-$180). The car seems to be working fine now. Thank you for all your help!My husband bought a tps ($32) It wasn't that. He and our friend (who works in a parts store) thought it was the IAC. So he bought one ($100-$180). The car seems to be working fine now. Thank you for all your help!

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This should be a drive by wire vehicle meaning it has a cable for the throttle body. First thing would be to see if any error codes can be pulled up (most parts stores will do that for free.) Drive by wire versus the late model that use electronic control for the idle have a IAC or idle air control which when first started controls the idle air intake--all air is run by it to idle the vehicle when cold--

Usual symptoms are rather high idle when cold engine or even idle and RPM jumping up and down and stalling when cold.

Another way if idle does drop when cold is tapping the gas--engine will still run until hot. Means not usually a fuel pump issue.

You could also have if the vehicle is fuel injected a dirty Mass air flow sensor, a throttle position sensor, etc.

These can be if the vehicle has them cleaned using a special zero residue spray cleaner.

First have it scanned to see what if any errors it shows--the computer.

To start with, you have a throttle body instead of a carburetor.On that throttle body is a component called an air control valve.That valve is how the computer controls the idle speed. It should open and close the air flow into the intake manifold as needed.Is the check engine light on when you are driving ? Have you checked the fuel pressure ?

It sounds like the Idle Air Control Valve is stuck. This will give you a fixed idle it can stick at high idle or low or anywhere in between. If you take off the air cleaner you see where the air is getting sucked into a small slot or hole. spray some carb and choke cleaner in there let it sit for about 5 minutes then start the engine. spray a little at a time with the engine running till the idle comes down by itself. This should take about 2-3 minutes. If it wont come back on its own take the 2 torx screws out and remove it clean with carb and choke cleaner and replace. If it still fails it will need to be replaced. MOST of the time cleaning it will work

I've had this problem. It's most likely a large fail in one, or series of small problems in all, of these:IAC (Idle Air Control) Valve - Will cause erratic idleERG (Exhaust Gas Return) Valve - Will cause irregular acceleration*TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) - Most likely the culprit. It was my major problem. It'll cause exactly what you described.

And if you did not know this, your car is equipped with an OBD (On Board Diagnostic) system. Next time the service light comes on, whether the car is running or not, push [OFF] and [TEMP UP] on your climate control and hold for about 3 seconds. All the dash lights will come on and any error codes will be displayed where your odometer is. Other controls are:[FAN UP] -OK[FAN DOWN] - Next[OFF] - Rescan[BI LEV] - Quit

I purchased a hand held Code Reader at WalMart for around $100.00. The reason your Check Engine light is coming on is that you need to "Check your Engine!" If you have a service manual it will tell you what the codes mean. I had Check Engine Light on for months because I had a high idle speed of over 2,000 RPM. I kept digging on the Saturn Forum website because I could figure out what was causing the high idle. Finally after about 6 months of the annoying Check Engine Light coming on I finally figured out that I had a blown intake manifold gasket. I changed the damn thing and now the light stays off! Imagine that! The Code Reader will also reset you engine so the "Check Engine Light doesn't come back on until the computer senses that there is still a problem.

I had this problem, took wrench and tapped the idler arm motor with the key on. then start it and it would idle no problem I was also told that when this was not working right that the service engine light would come on